MSDD Version 1.0

# Using the MSDD with time-series data

Users may want to employ the MSDD with other time-series cross-sectional data and thus aggregate the MSDD to the dispute-year level. To do so, they can draw on the dispute-year-supplement.xlsx file.  

After aggregating mediation events to the dispute-year, users may merge these aggregated data with the supplementary file. The file contains all dispute-years that were coded as part of the MSDD, irrespective of whether a mediation event occurred or not. This procedure helps with avoiding bias: In just using the dispute-years from the aggregated MSDD, dispute-years without mediation events would be omitted. By relying on the aggregated MSDD together with the supplementary file, users receive the full set of dispute-years coded for each dispute. 

The merger should be performed on the variables kgcid and year. After merging, the duplicate rows from the supplementary file should be removed. 

Last, dispute-years that were only coded on the dispute-year level, not the event level, are coded on the dispute_year_only variable. Users can thus easily subset the data to only the disputes for which event data was collected. 
